Crime how these vics are treated

ASEARING report by the New York City Department of Investigation documents what victim advocates already know: the New York Police Department is selling sexual-assault victims short.

The Special Victims Division is understaffed, with many of its detectives unprepared for the challenges of sex-crime cases.

As a victim advocate, I witness the devastating consequences for real victims. In one of my cases, an SVD detective opened an interview by asking a rape victim, “How often do you cheat on your husband?”

In another case, the victim was asked, “How could he [the rapist] penetrate you if you weren’t aroused?”

These questions could only be asked by an officer who was utterly unschooled in sexual-assault investigations. When the very authorities we depend on blame the victim or express disbelief before hearing her story, many victims describe the experience as “worse than the rape itself.” There are reasons for hope. SVD is headed by a deeply dedicated commanding officer, Deputy Chief Michael Osgood, who has earned the trust of victim advocates by improving oversight, bringing forensic interview training to his unit, and eliciting top-notch work from the few experienced investigators he has.

But there is only so much he can do with inadequate staff, inadequately trained.

Failing rape victims is a choice. According to the DOI, officers assigned to motorcycle patrol get six to eight weeks of training; those assigned to investigate rape get five days.

Assigning 67 investigators to all adult sex-crime cases in a city of 8.5 million, doesn’t say “high priority.”

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill has a choice, and so does Mayor de Blasio. They can dig in their heels, cover their eyes, and insist that there’s “nothing to see here.” Or they can fix the problem.

They can triple the personnel for Special Victims, assign experienced and highly motivated detectives, revamp training, and create a department-wide culture that treats sexual assault as a top priority.